US Officials' Lopsided Response to Gaza Crisis

Last Friday, January 2, Amnesty International USA released its first major action of the year, calling on all Amnesty members and concerned citizens to write to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the current violence in Gaza and southern Israel. In that action, we called on four things:

All parties to the conflict—ie Israel and Palestinian armed groups such as Hamas—should cease attacks on civilians.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza should be ameliorated.

The US should cease military transfers to Israel and should investigate if any US weapons were used in attacks against civilians.

The US should condemn all sides with equal vigor—including Israel for its vastly disproportionate response.

So far, over 500 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed. Yet despite those figures, the US continues to place the onus of blame solely on Hamas. Below is a list of quotes by US officials that illustrate why Amnesty calls the US response “lopsided.”

As the letter to Secretary Rice states, “We expect the US government to share this concern for all unarmed civilians, be they Israeli or Palestinians, who are caught in this conflict, and we urge the US government to spare no effort to pressure all sides in the conflict to immediately cease indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks which cause civilians fatalities and casualties.”

Quotes on Gaza by US Officials

Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader
Jan. 4, 2009- “I think what the Israelis are doing is very important. I think this terrorist organization, Hamas, has got to be put away. They’ve got to come to their senses.”

Howard L. Berman, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee
Dec. 27, 2008- “Israel has a right, indeed a duty, to defend itself in response to the hundreds of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza over the past week. No government in the world would sit by and allow its citizens to be subjected to this kind of indiscriminate bombardment. The loss of innocent life is a terrible tragedy, and the blame for that tragedy lies with Hamas.”

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Dec. 27, 2008- “Peace between Israelis and Palestinians cannot result from daily barrages of rocket and mortar fire from Hamas-controlled Gaza. Hamas and its supporters must understand that Gaza cannot and will not be allowed to be a sanctuary for attacks on Israel. The United States must continue to do all it can to promote peace in the region and a negotiated settlement to differences between Israelis and Palestinians. Humanitarian needs of all innocent civilians must also be addressed. But when Israel is attacked, the United States must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally.”

Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City
Jan. 4, 2009- “I think I speak for an awful lot, almost all Americans, who think that Israel is doing the right thing in defending itself.” Asked about the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, Mr. Bloomberg replied sharply: “That they are putting people at risk is an outrage. If Hamas would focus on building a country instead of trying to destroy another one, then those people would not be getting injured or killed.”

George W. Bush, President of the United States
Jan. 2, 2009- “This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas — a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel’s destruction […] In response to these attacks on their people, the leaders of Israel have launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza. As a part of their strategy, Hamas terrorists often hide within the civilian population, which puts innocent Palestinians at risk. Regrettably, Palestinian civilians have been killed in recent days […] Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice — there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end. I urge all parties to pressure Hamas to turn away from terror, and to support legitimate Palestinian leaders working for peace.

Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
Jan. 2, 2009- “I want to begin by noting that Hamas has held the people of Gaza hostage ever since their illegal coup against the forces of President Mahmoud Abbas, the legitimate President of the Palestinian people. The Hamas has used Gaza as a launching pad for rockets against Israeli cities and has contributed deeply to a very bad daily life for the Palestinian people in Gaza, and to a humanitarian situation that we have all been trying to address. But frankly, Hamas has made it very difficult for the people of Gaza to have a reasonable life. We are working toward a cease-fire that would not allow a reestablishment of the status quo ante where Hamas can continue to launch rockets out of Gaza.

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About Zahir Janmohamed

Prior to Amnesty International, he worked for the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy where he organized conferences in Nigeria and Sudan on the democratization process.View all postsRSS Feed

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49 thoughts on “US Officials' Lopsided Response to Gaza Crisis”

I'm hoping for peace between Israel and Palestine just like everyone else. HOWEVER, to suggest "The US should condemn all sides with equal vigor" Shows your true ignorance.
What do you think Hamas' objective/reason/etc… is for firing rockets into Israel vs. Israel's reason for firing into Gaza?
Hamas is a terrorist organization whose objective is to kill "infidels"
Israel is a country tired of rockets being fired at them AND the only objective is to protect themselves and get Hamas to stop…

I’m hoping for peace between Israel and Palestine just like everyone else. HOWEVER, to suggest “The US should condemn all sides with equal vigor” Shows your true ignorance.
What do you think Hamas’ objective/reason/etc… is for firing rockets into Israel vs. Israel’s reason for firing into Gaza?
Hamas is a terrorist organization whose objective is to kill “infidels”
Israel is a country tired of rockets being fired at them AND the only objective is to protect themselves and get Hamas to stop…

Does everybody realize that the Palestinian people of Gaza held DEMOCRATIC elections and voted for Hamas to govern them? How many of them are really innocent civilians? There were female suicide bombers also. Many photos are staged and these people know who they are playing to. If they make it look the horror film we gave an award to, they get points. They are not stupid people by any means. If you watch the "inside hamas" and undercover accounts you will see that little 5 and 6 year-olds want to grow up to be suicide bombers. To give their life for their cause is a blessing to them and their families. How do you stop that???

i am deeply frustrated and shocked by the US politicians and some of the other people who have posted comments suggesting that israel's response is justified need to realize that by their logic, 9/11 and other terror attacks are jsutified in the name of defending their religions,beliefs,way of life,cutlure,etc… just because the palesitinians voted for hamas doesn't make them terrorists. that logic only proves that mahatama gandhi,martin luther king,nelson mandela as terrorists and trouble makers as they were portrayed by the occupiers,racists during their times. civilians and children can't be killed. killing of 250K+ japanese civilians by nuke during world war ii is not justified. it is a crime against humanity. i sincerely pary that US , Israel and most of the European countries get punished in the worst possible way in my life time. i won't feel sorry if hundreds of millions and millions of westerners are killed by some means in my life time. westerners deserve no sympathy. they deserve to wiped out of this planet by natural disasters and economic collapse and civil wars.

you gotta understand that true jews are not are peacefull people and the state of isreal is zionist which is a extermist jew… zionist believe that they were promised land from the mederainian sea all the way to iraq.. and there goal is to conqure the entire middle east.. they make us jews look so bad..

When Israel started this attack, they knew they would be killing civilians. But they went through with it anyway. Period. End of story. They inflicted collective punishment on a civilian population. How people like Silent Momma can twist and spin this fact and blame it on someone other than the actual physical killer is truly astonishing and a testament to the power of the human imagination. Although the truth may be lost on her and other like minded psychopaths, Americans need to take a hard look at our actions if we want to the change the way we are viewed in the world. If Israel continues to use American made weapons to kill women and children with no change in US policy or response, how can we win the hearts and minds of the people in Iraq or Afghanistan? How can we be seen as an honest broker? Peace is possible, but how can it be achieved unless the US insists on an even handed and equitable solution for both parties?

Gaza is a 21st century concentration camp with its prisoners caged, starved and living a slow death. Like any occupied people, the Palestinians have the right to live and therefore resist an oppressor! What we are witnessing is a slaughter of innocent people, expelled from their land when Israel illegally stole it 60 years ago, and who continue till today to suffer from oppression and collective punishment while the world watches in silence! Instead of relying on western media to feed you distortions and lies, I urge you to read on how this murder began, how the State of Israel was established and the terrorizing policies it used to force people out of their homes…this massacre began long before Hamas threw rockets into Southern Israel!!

Israel is justified. Period. The Palestinians are unwilling and have been unwilling to come to any type of solution, and have broken treaties and cease fires plenty of times. Israel's sole reason for entering Gaza is to find the people responsible for inflicting terror into Israeli homes and silence them. How can anyone object to that? The fact that Israel "illegally" stole the land is bullshit. That land has been claimed by millions of people for millions of years, so it's not fair to say who was there first. If you can't have what you believe was rightfully yours, then compromise. But the Palestinians are unable to—they want it all and won't stop until Israel is theirs. This war right now is a war of world opinion. Hamas and others with the same beliefs in Gaza are relishing in the number of deaths because of the gaining sympathy they receive. I don't sympathize with the majority of people in Gaza because of their beliefs. It plainly sucks that the innocent are dying, but innocent Jews have been dying for years from attacks and bombings. The people in Gaza are suffering in their dense population, but just as we know in America, you don't reproduce unless you can support your offspring. It just seems like a mad house in Gaza, and that they are feeding this mad house to get some attention from the world. If Israel opens up the roads into Gaza, they are risking their tiny population being wiped out. It's a lose=lose situation for Israelis, and in order to keep world perception up, they would be putting their civilians in danger.

Does everybody realize that the Palestinian people of Gaza held DEMOCRATIC elections and voted for Hamas to govern them? How many of them are really innocent civilians? There were female suicide bombers also. Many photos are staged and these people know who they are playing to. If they make it look the horror film we gave an award to, they get points. They are not stupid people by any means. If you watch the “inside hamas” and undercover accounts you will see that little 5 and 6 year-olds want to grow up to be suicide bombers. To give their life for their cause is a blessing to them and their families. How do you stop that???

i am deeply frustrated and shocked by the US politicians and some of the other people who have posted comments suggesting that israel’s response is justified need to realize that by their logic, 9/11 and other terror attacks are jsutified in the name of defending their religions,beliefs,way of life,cutlure,etc… just because the palesitinians voted for hamas doesn’t make them terrorists. that logic only proves that mahatama gandhi,martin luther king,nelson mandela as terrorists and trouble makers as they were portrayed by the occupiers,racists during their times. civilians and children can’t be killed. killing of 250K+ japanese civilians by nuke during world war ii is not justified. it is a crime against humanity. i sincerely pary that US , Israel and most of the European countries get punished in the worst possible way in my life time. i won’t feel sorry if hundreds of millions and millions of westerners are killed by some means in my life time. westerners deserve no sympathy. they deserve to wiped out of this planet by natural disasters and economic collapse and civil wars.

you gotta understand that true jews are not are peacefull people and the state of isreal is zionist which is a extermist jew… zionist believe that they were promised land from the mederainian sea all the way to iraq.. and there goal is to conqure the entire middle east.. they make us jews look so bad..

When Israel started this attack, they knew they would be killing civilians. But they went through with it anyway. Period. End of story. They inflicted collective punishment on a civilian population. How people like Silent Momma can twist and spin this fact and blame it on someone other than the actual physical killer is truly astonishing and a testament to the power of the human imagination. Although the truth may be lost on her and other like minded psychopaths, Americans need to take a hard look at our actions if we want to the change the way we are viewed in the world. If Israel continues to use American made weapons to kill women and children with no change in US policy or response, how can we win the hearts and minds of the people in Iraq or Afghanistan? How can we be seen as an honest broker? Peace is possible, but how can it be achieved unless the US insists on an even handed and equitable solution for both parties?

Gaza is a 21st century concentration camp with its prisoners caged, starved and living a slow death. Like any occupied people, the Palestinians have the right to live and therefore resist an oppressor! What we are witnessing is a slaughter of innocent people, expelled from their land when Israel illegally stole it 60 years ago, and who continue till today to suffer from oppression and collective punishment while the world watches in silence! Instead of relying on western media to feed you distortions and lies, I urge you to read on how this murder began, how the State of Israel was established and the terrorizing policies it used to force people out of their homes…this massacre began long before Hamas threw rockets into Southern Israel!!

Israel is justified. Period. The Palestinians are unwilling and have been unwilling to come to any type of solution, and have broken treaties and cease fires plenty of times. Israel’s sole reason for entering Gaza is to find the people responsible for inflicting terror into Israeli homes and silence them. How can anyone object to that? The fact that Israel “illegally” stole the land is bullshit. That land has been claimed by millions of people for millions of years, so it’s not fair to say who was there first. If you can’t have what you believe was rightfully yours, then compromise. But the Palestinians are unable to—they want it all and won’t stop until Israel is theirs. This war right now is a war of world opinion. Hamas and others with the same beliefs in Gaza are relishing in the number of deaths because of the gaining sympathy they receive. I don’t sympathize with the majority of people in Gaza because of their beliefs. It plainly sucks that the innocent are dying, but innocent Jews have been dying for years from attacks and bombings. The people in Gaza are suffering in their dense population, but just as we know in America, you don’t reproduce unless you can support your offspring. It just seems like a mad house in Gaza, and that they are feeding this mad house to get some attention from the world. If Israel opens up the roads into Gaza, they are risking their tiny population being wiped out. It’s a lose=lose situation for Israelis, and in order to keep world perception up, they would be putting their civilians in danger.

Funny reading posts lecturing Israel has right to do this and that. Over its relatively short history Israel has fostered (along with certain western powers – mostly coerced by IS and their cronies) the development of its current situation. Israel has made it's bed and now must sleep in it. Israel continues to survive by years of support (tang. and intang) mainly from the US and the creation of endless boogymen. Israel will cease its immature, nationalist behavior only when US stops aid. Perhaps they will then be creative and recognize a balanced way for peace with the PALs.

Israel is targeting terrorists with unfortunate collateral damage. That civilian lives are lost is unfortunate, but unavoidable considering that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. I think that Israel is still doing a commendable job trying to avoid civilian deaths – and the numbers show it. If Israel wanted to commit genocide, in bombing a thousand targets in the most densely populated area on earth, surely they would and could have killed far more than 500 people (75% of whom, according to the UN, are armed terrorists).

I think persistent denial of Israel's right to defend itself against lethal Hamas attacks by people on this blog – essentially having innocent Israelis and their children be sitting ducks for genocidal terrorists – is nothing short of genocidal. Either its the product of intense anti-semitism (and judging from some of the posts that seems to be the case), or because you've decided to sacrifice Israel to the Islamofacists like Chamberlain sacrificed Czecheslovakia to Hitler in the fantastical hope that they really want peace and that if Israel would merely 'not rock the boat' (even if their cause is legitimate) all would be well. How naive and wrongheaded.

The true solution is to do what Israel is doing. The painful scenes that Palestinian children are witnessing are sad, but also important. Palestinian children are also learning an important life lesson – terrorism against innocent civilians doesn't pay. Far from achieving independence and honor, it brings Palestinians suffering, humiliation and devastation. Instead of building rockets and training to be suicide bombers perhaps these children will do something more than their foolish parents – perhaps they'll build themselves an economy, hospitals, and infrastructure and become something more than a hotbed for terrorism and hate.

Oh, and as for the "occupation." Israel withdrew from Gaza two years ago. The Palestinians – in elections monitored by Jimmy Carter and the EU – elected Hamas. So what on earth is "occupation" other than yet another buzzword to excuse all Palestinian wrongs?

Funny reading posts lecturing Israel has right to do this and that. Over its relatively short history Israel has fostered (along with certain western powers – mostly coerced by IS and their cronies) the development of its current situation. Israel has made it’s bed and now must sleep in it. Israel continues to survive by years of support (tang. and intang) mainly from the US and the creation of endless boogymen. Israel will cease its immature, nationalist behavior only when US stops aid. Perhaps they will then be creative and recognize a balanced way for peace with the PALs.

Israel is targeting terrorists with unfortunate collateral damage. That civilian lives are lost is unfortunate, but unavoidable considering that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. I think that Israel is still doing a commendable job trying to avoid civilian deaths – and the numbers show it. If Israel wanted to commit genocide, in bombing a thousand targets in the most densely populated area on earth, surely they would and could have killed far more than 500 people (75% of whom, according to the UN, are armed terrorists).

I think persistent denial of Israel’s right to defend itself against lethal Hamas attacks by people on this blog – essentially having innocent Israelis and their children be sitting ducks for genocidal terrorists – is nothing short of genocidal. Either its the product of intense anti-semitism (and judging from some of the posts that seems to be the case), or because you’ve decided to sacrifice Israel to the Islamofacists like Chamberlain sacrificed Czecheslovakia to Hitler in the fantastical hope that they really want peace and that if Israel would merely ‘not rock the boat’ (even if their cause is legitimate) all would be well. How naive and wrongheaded.

The true solution is to do what Israel is doing. The painful scenes that Palestinian children are witnessing are sad, but also important. Palestinian children are also learning an important life lesson – terrorism against innocent civilians doesn’t pay. Far from achieving independence and honor, it brings Palestinians suffering, humiliation and devastation. Instead of building rockets and training to be suicide bombers perhaps these children will do something more than their foolish parents – perhaps they’ll build themselves an economy, hospitals, and infrastructure and become something more than a hotbed for terrorism and hate.

Oh, and as for the “occupation.” Israel withdrew from Gaza two years ago. The Palestinians – in elections monitored by Jimmy Carter and the EU – elected Hamas. So what on earth is “occupation” other than yet another buzzword to excuse all Palestinian wrongs?

Israel is justified and whether you like it or not the U.S. will side with the true victim in this conflict.
Hamas objective: Destroy, Kill, Obliterate, Target ANY Israeli/Jew
Israel objective: Defend itself against Hamas and get them to stop firing rockets into Israel

Though I sympathize with innocent civilian casualties…I can't help remembering Palestinians reaction the day after 9-11. Celebrating the attacks, dancing in the streets and chanting death to USA. Despite that disgusting response…I'm hopeful for minimal civilian casualties and the quickest most painless destruction of Hamas' ability to fire rockets into Israel.

Israel is justified and whether you like it or not the U.S. will side with the true victim in this conflict.
Hamas objective: Destroy, Kill, Obliterate, Target ANY Israeli/Jew
Israel objective: Defend itself against Hamas and get them to stop firing rockets into Israel

Though I sympathize with innocent civilian casualties…I can’t help remembering Palestinians reaction the day after 9-11. Celebrating the attacks, dancing in the streets and chanting death to USA. Despite that disgusting response…I’m hopeful for minimal civilian casualties and the quickest most painless destruction of Hamas’ ability to fire rockets into Israel.

Thank you all for your comments. I enjoyed reading all of them and I will try to respond at some point.

The purpose of the posting was to open a broader discussion about US policy and specifically the lack of criticism by US officials. In fact I find that often there is a more robust and healthy discussion about Israeli policy within Israel than in the US. AIUSA has been updating our site regularly with actions to Secretary of State Rice and US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad and I hope you take the time to read them and if interested, sign our actions.

Thank you all for your comments. I enjoyed reading all of them and I will try to respond at some point.

The purpose of the posting was to open a broader discussion about US policy and specifically the lack of criticism by US officials. In fact I find that often there is a more robust and healthy discussion about Israeli policy within Israel than in the US. AIUSA has been updating our site regularly with actions to Secretary of State Rice and US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad and I hope you take the time to read them and if interested, sign our actions.

Thank you all for your comments. I enjoyed reading all of them and I will try to respond at some point.

The purpose of the posting was to open a broader discussion about US policy and specifically the lack of criticism by US officials. In fact I find that often there is a more robust and healthy discussion about Israeli policy within Israel than in the US. AIUSA has been updating our site regularly with actions to Secretary of State Rice and US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad and I hope you take the time to read them and if interested, sign our actions.

Thank you all for your comments. I enjoyed reading all of them and I will try to respond at some point.

The purpose of the posting was to open a broader discussion about US policy and specifically the lack of criticism by US officials. In fact I find that often there is a more robust and healthy discussion about Israeli policy within Israel than in the US. AIUSA has been updating our site regularly with actions to Secretary of State Rice and US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad and I hope you take the time to read them and if interested, sign our actions.

The most befuddling and dehumanizing thing a woman can do is to knowingly conceive and bear a child in a war zone!

What really are human rights if the only hope for this tragic population of humanity is to produce male children who will be the cannon-fodder of the next generation's continuing conflict and for female children to become the procreative chattel who produce this cannon-fodder!

I cannot understand how this most loving and sacred act can be so toxic and perverse as to pollute the well of soul with this unending stream of bloody ignorance …

In this context, what does it mean to save a human life with humanitarian assistance if human beings have no hope for a peaceful settlement or a peaceful future!

The most befuddling and dehumanizing thing a woman can do is to knowingly conceive and bear a child in a war zone!

What really are human rights if the only hope for this tragic population of humanity is to produce male children who will be the cannon-fodder of the next generation’s continuing conflict and for female children to become the procreative chattel who produce this cannon-fodder!

I cannot understand how this most loving and sacred act can be so toxic and perverse as to pollute the well of soul with this unending stream of bloody ignorance …

In this context, what does it mean to save a human life with humanitarian assistance if human beings have no hope for a peaceful settlement or a peaceful future!

I cannot sign the petition re Hillary Clinton. You mention Gaza but not the Israeli towns being shelled. Thank Allah that the Hamas rockets are not very sophisticated or precise or more Israelis would have died. Remember the Hamas air strikes are aimed at civilian populations. The strikes have to be stopped and the underground arms smuggling ended before Hamas gets more sophisticated and deadly rockets. rocketsWhat is this that the people voted for Hamas? As I remember Hamas forcefully took the Gaza.
It is just amazing, I receive pleas for the terrible situation in Darfur, yet isn't this genocide Muslim created? Where are the outcrys about this Muslim war against their own people? The Muslim people are not all holy and pure.

I cannot sign the petition re Hillary Clinton. You mention Gaza but not the Israeli towns being shelled. Thank Allah that the Hamas rockets are not very sophisticated or precise or more Israelis would have died. Remember the Hamas air strikes are aimed at civilian populations. The strikes have to be stopped and the underground arms smuggling ended before Hamas gets more sophisticated and deadly rockets. rocketsWhat is this that the people voted for Hamas? As I remember Hamas forcefully took the Gaza.
It is just amazing, I receive pleas for the terrible situation in Darfur, yet isn’t this genocide Muslim created? Where are the outcrys about this Muslim war against their own people? The Muslim people are not all holy and pure.